KUALA LUMPUR, 8 Feb 2019:
The Foreign Ministry has confirmed the detention of 47 Malaysians in Poi Pet, Cambodia since 11 Dec 2018.
Wisma Putra said they were suspected to be involved in illegal online gambling activities.
The ministry said notification of arrests was only conveyed verbally by Bantey Meanchey Police on Dec 28 last year.
“Following the notification, officers from the Embassy of Malaysia in Phnom Penh made a consular visit to the detainees to ensure their well-being after receiving detailed information and approval from the local authorities.
“The visit revealed that most of the detainees were offered jobs with an attractive pay,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
The officers from the Embassy had a meeting with the prison officials and the judge of the case, it added.
“They (Malaysian embassy) had brought this matter to the attention of the ministry and International Cooperation of Cambodia via a diplomatic note to release the detainees.
“We through the embassy are closely monitoring the case and prepared to render the necessary consular assistance accordingly,” the statement added.
Earlier, in KUCHING, the mother of one the Malaysians detained had appealed to the government to help brining all 47 detainees home claiming that they were victims of a human trafficking syndicate.
Julau Member of Parliament Larry Soon is also taking up their plight.
Meanwhile in Singapore, 25 drivers – including Malaysians lured by online advertisements to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore – were arrested in 2018, according to Singapore Customs.
The online advertisements on social networking platforms, such as Facebook and WeChat, typically offer a payment ranging between S$100 and S$600 for every smuggling trip into Singapore.
The 25 drivers arrested and found guilty by the state courts were sentenced to imprisonment for a term of between 10 weeks and six months.
Giving a case of a 25-year-old Malaysian, Singapore Customs said Ku Kai Chien responded to a Facebook advertisement for drivers, and he was engaged to drive his own van into Malaysia for the syndicate to load duty-unpaid cigarettes onto the vehicle.
He was asked to drive the van back to Singapore and if he succeeded in smuggling the cigarettes, he would be paid S$400.
However, Ku was arrested at the Tuas Checkpoint on 21 March 2018, with a total of 201 cartons and 790 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes found concealed in various modified compartments of the van.
The duty-unpaid cigarettes and the van were seized while the duty and GST evaded amounted to about S$23,910 and S$1,750 respectively.
Ku was sentenced by the State Courts on 9 July 2018, to six months’ imprisonment for smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes into the republic.
“Drivers who are hoping to make easy and quick money from the syndicate by smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore should think twice. They will end up paying a higher price when they are caught,” said Singapore Customs assistant director-general (Intelligence & Investigation) Yeo Sew Meng, in its website.
“We strongly advise the public not to fall prey to such online advertisements. We will take firm actions against those who respond to these advertisements to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore.”
– Bernama